Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

Chapter 27 The Guest Elder's Profound Knowledge

Jiang Bai was unaware that someone was investigating him; for him, life at the Hall of Rebirth was exceptionally fulfilling.

As he familiarized himself with this world, he practiced using the rock element. The elusive sect leader would occasionally appear, sparring with him when he felt like it, but then disappear without a trace.

Jiang Bai would occasionally bring breakfast to bother Mr. Zhongli. Sometimes he would see him, but other times he would come up empty-handed.

Mr. Zhongli was very knowledgeable, but the content of his conversations was often not what Jiang Bai expected.

Jiang Bai wanted to ask about gods and the world, but apart from mentioning it briefly the first time, Mr. Zhongli never talked about these things again. Instead, he preferred to share with Jiang Bai how to grow flowers well, how to distinguish good tea from bad tea, and how to appreciate wine...

None of this information was in Jiang Bai's knowledge base. However, even after listening to it many times, he still couldn't tell where the bitter tea leaves in his cup came from, what kind of tea they were, or what the difference was between good and bad tea.

He wanted to add some sugar and milk to make a sweet drink.

During this time, he did not leave the Hall of Rebirth. Mainly because Liyue Harbor was too big, he didn't know the way, and his pockets were empty. If he went out, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to come back.

In addition, his curiosity about elemental forces hadn't worn off, and he was constantly researching them in various ways.

During the few days that Jiang Bai was at the ancestral hall, Hu Tao was also busy.

As the head of the Rebirth Hall, although she is jokingly called a hands-off manager, she still has a lot to do.

She personally handled the entire "Returning to One's Roots" plan.

"We have enough magic crystal ore, enough night-blooming jasper, enough amber, and plenty of cinnabar..." Hu Tao checked off the items in the Rebirth Hall's inventory one by one, ticking off the materials written on the paper.

"These solid topaz, basalt sand, Kongtong Hundred Spirit Jade, and Four Directions True Souls are completely unavailable on the market..."

These things are nowhere to be found in the warehouses of the Hall of Rebirth, and even the merchants who specialize in buying and selling them have never heard of them.

"Forget it, I'll go ask Zhongli." She had a strange confidence in her guest advisor; if there were any difficulties, going to the guest advisor was the right thing to do!

"Grandpa, Grandpa~" Hu Tao's lively voice came over before he even arrived.

Zhongli put down his teacup, a helpless expression on his face.

"What's wrong with the sect leader now?"

Hu Tao placed her list on the table, then darted onto the stool like a rabbit, resting her chin on her hands and looking at Zhong Li expectantly.

"I'm looking for these things. Can you help me find them?"

Zhongli picked up the list and quickly gave an answer.

"The solid topaz is actually the core of the elemental creature Rock of the Aspect, which is shattered. As for the basalt sand, it is the powdery sand left after the inert outer shell of the Rock of the Aspect is crushed."

Hu Tao was overjoyed. The old man was indeed an old man; he could explain things that others didn't know, and they would understand as soon as he explained them.

"Where is this Rock of No Form?"

"I remember there was one near Guyun Pavilion."

Zhongli paused, then added a reminder:

“This formless creature is not easy to deal with. Its outer inert shell can protect it from harm, and it can only be attacked when it exposes its core. Moreover, it can absorb rock elements from underground to repair itself. It will be very difficult for the Hall Master to deal with it.”

"How do we fight this..." Hu Tao scratched his head, clearly having little experience dealing with this kind of creature.

Zhongli thought for a moment and said, "Take Jiang Bai with you when you go."

"Take him with you?"

"Although Geo cannot damage the core, it can be quickly damaged through resonance, causing the Geo Hypostasis to expose its core. As long as a powerful attack is launched during its brief exposure of its core, it can be prevented from repairing itself through elemental energy..."

"I understand." Hu Tao nodded and wrote down these important details.

"But is there only one Rock of the Impermanence? What if I need more of these materials later?"

“Hehe…” Zhongli picked up his teacup and chuckled softly.

"It will not be destroyed by you. Even if it disappears, it will simply re-enter the underground and revive once the elemental energy has been replenished."

These are creatures that exist based on elements; as long as the elements exist, they will not disappear.

"What about the Kongtong Hundred Spirit Jade and the Four Directions True Soul?"

"Kongtong Hundred Spirit Jade should be found in Huaguang Forest. Although the name sounds like jade, it is not actually jade, but the root system of a plant. They take root in the rocky mountains, and the roots have been subjected to the howling winds from all directions for a long time, forming a texture similar to jade."

"I'll draw you a picture; you should be able to find it by comparing it."

Zhongli took out paper and pen from the room, and with a stroke of the pen, a clear picture immediately appeared on the paper.

Hu Tao blew the ink dry and happily put it away.

Their Zhong Keqing is so helpful and efficient. With such a knowledgeable and omniscient person in charge, it's worth spending money!

"Finding the Four True Souls will be a bit difficult..."

"How difficult is it?" Hu Tao became nervous. If Zhong Li said it was difficult, then it must be something extraordinary.

"The Four Directions True Soul can also be said to be a kind of True Soul nurtured by the amber of Mount Hulao, which belongs to the immortals."

"Ah...this is indeed very difficult..." Hu Tao was also stumped for a moment.

Immortals are not so easy to find, and even if you do find one, it's difficult to convince them to give her this item.

"Let's talk about it later. First, let's find what we can!"

Hu Tao was too lazy to think about it anymore. There's always a way out.

If you don't look for any of the challenges because one of them is difficult, you'll never get anything done.

"Goodbye, Grandpa, I'm going to find Jiang Bai~" Hu Tao waved and disappeared in a flash.

Zhongli couldn't handle Hu Tao's impulsive nature, so he shook his head and continued drinking his tea.

She said she was looking for Jiang Bai, but she definitely couldn't just go directly there. This guy had been holed up in his room researching elemental power these past few days; unless something attracted him, he probably wouldn't be willing to go out with her.

Hu Tao's eyes darted around, and she went outside to buy a book, which she then mysteriously handed to Jiang Bai.

Jiang Bai became interested upon seeing the title "A Guide to Teyvat".

Judging from the title, this should be a book about this world, but the contents were not as he expected.

If you had to describe Jiang Bai's expression after reading the first article, it would be something like "elderly person using a cell phone on the subway."

I thought I'd find a normal book about the customs and culture of Teyvat, but it turned out to be full of some guy's wild ideas.

What kind of Hilichurl flesh and blood factory? They destroyed Starfall Cliff, they blew up ancient ruins...

Although I don't know where these places are, the content on them seems rather frivolous.

Looking back at the cover, this isn't some kind of travel guide; it's clearly called "Alice's Travel Diary"!

He wants to report this book as fraudulent!

Chapter 28 This Master will take you out to broaden your horizons

Hu Tao waited for Jiang Bai's reaction, then laughed heartily with satisfaction at the indescribable expression on his face.

"What's so funny?" Jiang Bai didn't understand Hu Tao's sense of humor.

"Your expression is exactly the same as when I first read this book!" Hu Tao exclaimed, overjoyed.

When she saw the book in the bookstore, she thought it was a proper book about Teyvat and wanted to see what the customs and culture of other countries were like, so she bought it. But after reading it, she was truly speechless.

The book is titled "The Guide to Teyvat," but it's actually more of a record of the author's various whimsical ideas, some of which are quite absurd and frightening.

Later, when she was cooking outdoors and couldn't find firewood, she burned the book as firewood.

"The book seems to mention Mr. Zhongli..."

There is a passage in the book about what Ms. Alice and Mr. Zhongli saw when they went to Jueyun Pass. She said that Ms. Alice imagined that if all the groundwater in Jueyun Pass were drained, Jueyun Pass might sink underground, which made Zhongli laugh.

Hu Tao waved her hand dismissively, "Zhong Li is well-traveled and knowledgeable; it's not surprising that he appears anywhere."

Jiang Bai wanted to remind the old man that he was no ordinary person, but he opened his mouth and then remained silent.

Zhongli has been able to serve as a guest elder in the Hall of Rebirth for so many years, and even Hu Tao respects him greatly. Hu Tao must know that he is not simple, but there is no need to delve into his identity.

Zhongli can endorse the professionalism of Wangshengtang and provide it with profound academic support, while Wangshengtang can provide Zhongli with financial support. The two benefit each other. As for Zhongli's true identity, that is irrelevant.

In any case, as long as Hu Tao didn't reveal his identity, he was Zhong Li, the guest master of the Hall of Rebirth.

"The sect leader probably didn't come to see me today just to bring me a book, did he?"

"Hehe, you guessed it!" Hu Tao chuckled. "Did you see the record about Lonely Cloud Pavilion? We're going there later..."

"Lonely Cloud Pavilion..."

Jiang Bai remembered the records about that place in the book.

Legend has it that this is the place where the Rock King Emperor once used a rock spear to suppress a demon god, and that rock spear, once thrown down, became the present-day Lonely Cloud Pavilion. It is also said that the earth's veins there are very active, and the demon god who was sealed away did not die.

In addition, Mr. Zhongli is very familiar with the legends there.

Sometimes when he strolled around the port of Liyue, he could see the small islands on the other side of the sea in the distance, but they were so far away that he could only see the outline of the islands and not see them clearly.

"What is a demon god? Is it some kind of demonic creature?"

"Emmmm... how should I put it..." Faced with Jiang Bai's question, Hu Tao scratched her head and thought for a long time before finally coming up with a more reasonable explanation.

"Demons cannot be called demons; that's a very general term. Just as we humans are called humans, gods are also demons, and our Emperor is one of the demons..."

Jiang Bai understood; "Demon God" was a term used to refer to beings of a higher dimension.

"What are we going there for?" Although he was eager to see what the rock spears thrown by the Rock King Emperor looked like, he still had to ask about the purpose of going there.

"There are several materials needed to make magical artifacts that can only be found over there." Hu Tao took out a slip of paper listing various materials.

"The Solid Yellow Jade and the Mystic Sand can only be obtained from the Formless Rock near the Lonely Cloud Pavilion, the Kongtong Hundred Spirit Jade can be obtained from the Huaguang Forest, and the Four Directions True Souls can be obtained from Mount Hulao..."

"What is the Rock of No Form?" Jiang Bai heard a new term again.

"It's a monster formed from an element. You'll see when you see it. It won't be easy to deal with." Although she said it wouldn't be easy to deal with, Hu Tao wasn't worried, since Mr. Zhongli had already provided a solution.

She took out a map of Liyue and opened it on the table. "Let's go to Guyun Pavilion first, then come back to rest, then go through Jueyun Pass to Huaguang Forest, find the Kongtong Hundred Spirit Jade, and then go to Hulao Mountain..."

The Liyue map is quite large, consisting of six major regions, each with its own unique landscape.

These six regions are Biyuan in the north, Qiongjiye in the center, Lishajiao in the south, Yunlaihai in the east, Minlin in the west, and Cengyan Juyuan and Heiyanchang further west, which border Xumi.

Biyuan has a flat terrain and suitable climate, making it the main grain-producing area of ​​Liyue. Qingce Village, the second largest population center in Liyue, is located here.

The western Minlin region is mostly mountainous, with towering peaks and ridges shrouded in mist, making it a place where immortals dwell.

The Qiongji Field in the central region and the Lisha Suburb in the south are relatively desolate. They were once the dwellings of early inhabitants and contain a large number of relics. Now, few people live there.

Both the Stranded Rock Abyss and Blackrock Depths are mining areas in Liyue, providing a continuous supply of minerals to the region.

Liyue Harbor and Guyun Pavilion are located in the Yunlai Sea, which is in the south-eastern part of the island.

With Hu Tao's explanation, Jiang Bai learned a simple geography of Liyue using a map.

Based on the itinerary that Hu Tao has described so far, Jiang Bai feels that the journey alone will take a week.

Even so, he was still very enthusiastic.

After all, aside from his last trip to the statue, he hadn't really been outside Liyue Harbor much! He knew far too little about the local customs and culture of this world.

As for Hu Tao's concern that he didn't want to go out, that was completely unfounded.

He was just temporarily obsessed with elemental power, but now that such a fun thing was in front of him, of course he had to go!

"We'll take a boat directly from Liyue Harbor to Lone Cloud Pavilion. There are many monsters there, and the terrain is complex, so be prepared to stay there for a few days."

Hu Tao sought out Jiang Bai primarily on Zhong Li's advice.

Secondly, we need to familiarize him with the wilderness environment. After all, adventurers like to go to dangerous places. In the future, when we expand our business, we will inevitably have to go deep into the mountains and forests. Getting familiar with it first will give us experience.

Then you need to find a companion. Traveling alone is quite boring, and even if you get there, you don't know how long it will take to find something.

Then it's time to train Jiang Bai! What can you possibly learn by pondering elemental power in the Hall of Rebirth? You still need to go out and practice in real combat to gain experience!

Jiang Bai had no idea that Hu Tao had a whole plan in mind; all he knew was that he could go out and have fun!

"The map shows that it's all small islands over there. Should we bring a small boat? We should also bring several sets of clothes, so we can change into dry ones if we get wet. If we're staying overnight, we'll need to prepare more food. Maybe we should bring a pot! I don't know if there's any clean fresh water on the island, so we'll need to bring several water bladders..."

Jiang Bai considered what he needed to bring, but found that there was too much to carry.

He already knew how the weapons disappeared and reappeared, and he could control the rocks to create two sarcophagi for his sleeping place, but he couldn't do that for food, and the stone boat couldn't float on water...